Preheat oven to 425 F.
In a blender, finely grind the first 7 ingredients in a blender or food
processor. Add garlic and whirl to form a paste. Rub seasoning paste all
over tenderloin. Set meat on rack in a 12 by 17-inch roasting pan. Roast
in a 425 F oven for 20 minutes. (If using buffalo, do not cook beyond rare
or it will start to dry out). Meanwhile, rinse canned chipoltes, discard
seeds and veins and mince. Mix onion slices with oil and put in roasting
pan around meat (not on rack). Continue to cook until a thermometer inserted
in center of the thickest part of meat registers 130 degrees for rare,
30 to 40 minutes longer. Transfer roast to a platter and let rest in a
warm place for 10 to 15 minutes (to allow juices to settle and meat to
firm slightly for neater slicing). Skim and discard excess fat from drippings
in roasting pan. Add back the chipoltes and onions topan. Set pan over medium-high
and deglaze with the stock-wine mixture, cranberry sauce or chopped dried
tart cherries (if using) scraping browned bits free, stirring until mixture
is reduced to desired consistency. Sauce may be served as is or pureed
and strained. Slice meat and offer chipolte-onion sauce to spoon over portions.
Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

In a deep rectangular
or oval dish that can contain the meat and all the other ingredients except
for the mushrooms, combine the pork tenderloin, 3 tbsp of olive oil, onion,
garlic, bay leaves, celery, rosemary, and red wine. Turn the meat over
several times to coat it well, then cover the dish with plastic wrap and
refrigerate overnight. Take it out occasionally whenever convenient to
turn the pork over, basting it with its marinade.

The following day, take
the meat out of the refrigerator at least 1 hour before proceeding with
the preparation of the dish. Turn it over and baste it when you take it
out of the refrigerator, and once every half hour thereafter.

Detach the mushroom caps
from the stems, discarding the stems. Wash the caps quickly in running
cold water without letting them soak. Pat them dry gently but thoroughly
with a cloth towel, and cut them into thin slices.

Lift the tenderloin out
of the deep dish, pick out any bits of the vegetables from the marinade
that may be sticking to it, and pat the meat dry with kitchen towels.

In a skillet that can
accommodate the two pieces of pork without overlapping, put in the remaining
tablespoon of olive oil, and turn the heat to high. When the oil is hot
enough to sizzle when you put in the meat, slip in both pieces. Turn the
meat over to brown it evenly all around, then transfer it to a platter.

Pour all the marinade
from the deep dish into the skillet, turn the heat down to low, and cover
the pan. Cook, stirring occasionally, until all the vegetables are very
soft or almost dissolved.

While the marinade is
cooking, put 1 tablespoon of butter in a medium skillet, turn the heat
to medium, and add the sliced shiitake caps with some salt. Cook, turning
the mushrooms over occasionally, until the liquid they shed evaporates
completely and they have become very tender. When the vegetables of the
marinade are very soft, add the cooked shiitake mushrooms, cooking them
together for about a minute or two. Add both pieces of pork, sprinkling
them with salt and several grindings of black pepper, and raise the heat
to high. Cook the meat for 10 minutes on each side.

Transfer the meat onto
a cutting board, cut into slices 1/3-inch thick, and place slices on a
very warm serving platter. Remove the bay leaves from the marinade -- and
the garlic cloves, if you can find them -- then cover the meat with the
cooked marinade and mushrooms and serve at once.

Ahead-of-time note: When
the overnight marinating of the meat is complete, it would be desirable
to proceed at once through all the succeeding steps, but if you wish you
can stop a few hours in advance right after the shiitake mushrooms and
cooked-down marinade have been combined. Cook the meat, however, only when
ready to serve, because it may dry out and become stringy if reheated.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Par boil the bear meat
in 2 qts of water and 1 tbsp soda to eliminate the wild taste. Season the
bear meat with the celery salt an pepper and place in a stock pot,
adding the garlic, salt pork, and enough water to cover; Cook `til meat
is tender, then drain RESERVING the pan juices. Place the meat in a roasting
pan and top with the onions, roast at 350 F until brown, basting with the
reserved juices. Thicken the remaining juices for gravy and serve over
potatoes served with the bear roast.

Soak the porcupine in
a mixture of water (to cover) & vinegar in a large bowl for 1 hour,
drain and pat dry. Then place it in a stock pot and add 4 cups of water,
cook for 4-5 hours until the meat falls off the bones, using additional
water as necessary. Cool and debone. Combine 4 c water, beef cube, salt
and pepper to taste,carrots, onions, and
green pepper in a large saucepan and cook for 15 min. Then add the meat
and cook for 10 min. Blend the flour and the remaining 1/4 c water and
stir into the stew, add the corn and simmer for 5 min. stirring constantly.
Serve over hot cooked rice with hot rolls or french bread and grated cheese.

The recipe says - Squirrel
meat is light-colored, fine-textured, with mild flavor. Melt butter in
big cast iron Dutch oven. Brown squirrel pieces on all sides. Do not cook,
just brown. Remove and brown onions, then add vinegar and seasonings, stirring
well. Return squirrel pieces to Dutch oven and add enough water to almost
cover meat. Cover and bake 1 hour, then reduce heat. In today's kitchen
oven, begin at 350 F and cut to 315. Mix flour in cold water until there
are no lumps, after squirrel has baked about 2 hours. Stir into pot, and
keep stirring about 10 minutes until it bubbles into a thin gravy. Serve
squirrel over hot biscuits with lots of gravy. Yes, there are bones. Eat
slowly and remove bones as you go.

Soak beaver overnight
in solution of 1/2 cup vinegar and 1 tablespoon salt in cold water
to cover.

The next day, remove the
beaver from the brine, wash anc cover with solution of 2 teaspoons soda
to 2 quarts of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes.
Drain and rinse beaver and cut into serving pieces. Dredge each piece of
meat thoroughly in the seasoned flour. Melt butter in a heavy fry pan and
brown the pieces of meat.

Transfer meat to a greased
casserole, slice onions over top, add water and bake at 325 F until tender.
When meat is almost tender, add 1 cup sour cream to the casserole. Stir
well and continue cooking until tender. Serves 4.

Heat oil in a pan and
add the tumeric, then the remainder of the spices except for the
garlic, and mix well. Cut the meat into bite-sized pieces and add,
frying until it becomes brown. Add the garlic, then the water. Simmer
gently until the meat is tender and the sauce has thickened somewhat, about
30 or more minutes.

Chop the bacon, garlic
and sage very fine, to paste consistancy. (If using a blender or processor,
add 1 or 2 tablespoons of the stock.) Heat the vegetable oil in a large
casserole, meanwhile seasoning the rabbit parts with salt and pepper and
dredging them lightly in flour, shaking off the excess. Add the rabbit
to the casserole and cook over high heat, turning it until browned, about
3 minutes on per side.

Discard the oil from the
casserole. Add the bacon mixture, and return to the heat, cooking 3 minutes
and stirring occasionally. Add the balsamic vinegar and white wine, and
simmer 5 minutes. Add 1 cup ofthe stock, salt and pepper
to taste, and cover the casserole. Simmer until the rabbit is tender, about
45 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding the remaining stock gradually,
as needed, to keep the meat moist. Transfer the rabbit pieces to a large
serving dish and strain the sauce, which should be thick, over them. If
the sauce is thin, quickly reduce it over high heat.

Wash and pat dry rabbit
parts. Combine flour and salt and dredge rabbit parts in it. Heat oil to
360 degrees and fry rabbit 3-4 minutes per side until crisp. Remove, drain
on paper towels, and place in a large (5-6 quart) covered casserole.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Spread all remaining ingredients on top of rabbit, squeezing each lemon
quarter, then including rind. Cover and bake one hour.

Remove cover of casserole,
stir ingredients gently, then return to oven, uncovered. Turn heat up to
500 degrees. Bake 15 minutes, or until rabbit is well browned. Discard
lemons and bay leaves. Add saltand pepper to taste.
Serve over rice.

Combine all the basting
sauce ingredients and soak the meat slices in the sauce for at least 24
hours. Pour off and reserve the sauce. Put the meat on a board and pat
it dry, then nick the edges of the slices and rub them all over with the
fat.

Heat the grill to medium-high
and grill the steaks until medium-rare. Baste the meat with the reserved
basting sauce while cooking and turn it once. When done, transfer the slices
to a warmed serving platter, and serve at once.

The remaining marinade
can be brought to a boil in a small sauce pan and served as a sauce at
the table if desired.

Rinse the rabbits and
pat them dry with paper towels. Cut each one into three pieces; the hind
legs, the front legs, and the loin. Cut the hind and front leg sections
into 2 pieces each, leaving the loin in one piece. You should now have
5 sections per rabbit.

Place the rabbit pieces
in a large deep nonreactive bowl. In a small sauce pan over medium heat,
reduce the orange juice to half a cup. In a small bowl, combine the pepper,
fennel, saffron, cayenne, and salt. Add the reduced orange juice and the
lemon juice, whisk together, and let stand for 10 or 15 minutes. Add the
honey and mix together. Pour this mixture over the rabbit pieces, toss
so that each one is evenly coated, and let sit at room temperature for
about 1 hour, loosely covered. Toss the pieces every 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400
F. Remove the rabbit from the marinade and place on a rack in a roasting
pan. Roast the rabbit for 20 to 25 minutes, until done through with no
trace of pink remaining. Baste once with the marinade halfway through the
cooking time, then again when you remove the rabbit from the oven. Place
the rabbit pieces on a platter and surround them with sprigs of watercress
and wedges of lemon. Drain the onion slices briefly on paper towels, separate
them into rings and scatter them over the top. Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Season the rabbit well
with salt and pepper. Heat the olive oil in a large saute pan. Fry the
rabbit pieces in the oil over medium heat until they are nicely browned.
Once browned, remove the pieces from the pan and keep in a warm place.
Leave the oil in the pan. Brown the pancetta in the oil. Add the onion
and cook for 4 minutes over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute for 2
minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook for 3 minutes, then add the wine. Cook
the mixture until the wine is reduced by half. Add the pepperoncini, tomatoes,
chicken stock, thyme and oregano. Place the rabbit pieces back in the pan
and continue to simmer for 15 minutes.

Season rabbit with salt
and pepper. Brush one side of each piece with mustard. Heat oil and butter
in a deep, non-reactive skillet and cook pieces, mustard side down, when
fat is hot. Don't crowd the pan. Cook in batches if necessary (or use two
pans). Brown 10 minutes. Season and coat other side with mustard. Brown
another 10 minutes. Remove rabbit and add a few tablespoons of wine to
pan. Scrape up browned bits with a wooden spoon. Add onions and cook until
soft. Stir in flour and mix well. Add remaining wine, stock, thyme (or
other herb) and bay leaf.

Return rabbit to pan,
bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, about 45 minutes.
Transfer rabbit to a platter, pour sauce over and sprinkle with parsley.
Serve with rice. Serves 2-4.

CFF Shared by Mike

Pappardelle is a wide
noodle pasta that Italians like with game sauces, particularly rabbit.
If you can't find it (normally at specialty markets), try fettuccine.

Season forelegs, hind
legs and saddle with salt and pepper. Heat butter and half the oil in a
large skillet and brown rabbit over moderate heat 15-20 minutes. (Use two
pans or do in batches to avoid crowding. Smaller pieces will take less
time). Set aside on a warm platter. In a separate pan, sear the liver in
remaining oil over high heat, about 2 minutes on each side. Cool. (Liver
should still be pink inside.)

Cook vegetables and pancetta
in same pan as rabbit until just tender. Add wine and reduce over high
heat by half, scraping bits on the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
Add stock, tomato sauce, rosemary and half the parsley. Return rabbit and
cook just until rabbit is tender

Remove rabbit. If necessary,
thicken sauce with tomato paste. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper to
taste. Chop liver coarsely and add to sauce.

Cook pasta until tender
but firm. Drain and top with sauce, sprinkled with remaining parsley and
Parmesan if desired. Serve forelegs, hind legs and saddle separately. Serves
2-4.

CFF Shared by Mike

For this next savory
rabbit dish, created by Jim Connolly at Emile's, you will need two oven-proof
skillets. Connolly doesn't use the forelegs but I did when I made it. Just
be sure not to cook them as long as the hind legs.

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Season hind legs and forelegs with salt and pepper, dust in flour and brown
in half the oil in a heavy skillet over moderate heat. Remove to platter.
Add half the chopped vegetables to the skillet. Brown and add 1/2 cup wine,
stock, bay leaf and thyme. Add cooked rabbit pieces, cover and put in oven
25-30 minutes. Remove forelegs after 15 minutes, cover and keep warm.

Meanwhile, season saddle
with salt and pepper and brown in remaining oil in another skillet over
high heat. Remove saddle, add remaining vegetables to pan, top with saddle,
cover and put in the oven for about 6 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes in the
pan.

Remove saddle, deglaze
pan with 1/2 cup white wine and combine with juices from the pan in which
the legs were cooked. Cook down to 1/2 cup of liquid; strain.

Put cooked pasta in the
middle of a platter and surround with rabbit pieces. Drizzle with cooking
juices and garnish with thyme sprigs and tomato. Serves 2-4.

Season the rabbit with
salt and pepper. In a shallow pan, add 2 cups of the flour. Season with
salt and pepper. In another shallow bowl, whisk the egg and milk together.
Season with salt and pepper. Dredge the rabbit in the seasoned flour. Dip
the rabbit in the egg wash, letting the excess drip off. Dredge the rabbit
back in the seasoned flour, coating completely. In a large hot oven-proof
skillet with a lid, render the bacon until crispy, about 6 to 8 minutes.
Remove the crispy bacon from the pan and reserve. Lay the rabbit, skin
side down in the hot bacon fat and brown the rabbit for 3 to 4 minutes
on each side. Remove the rabbit from the pan and set aside. Add the onions
to the bacon fat and saute for 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, shallots,
and garlic. Saute for 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add the thyme
and bay leaves. Add the rabbit to the vegetable mixture. Add the wine and
chicken stock. Bring the liquid up to a simmer and cover. Cookthe rabbit until very
tender about 30 to 35 minutes, skimming off the fat. Remove the rabbit
pieces from the pan and set aside. Blend the remaining flour and butter
together into a smooth paste (beurre manié). Whisk the paste into
hot liquid. Bring the liquid to a simmer and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Add
the rabbit back to the pan and continue to cook for 5 minutes. Stir in
the parsley. Season with salt and pepper if needed. Serve the Coq Au Vin
in individual bowls with crusty bread. Garnish with the reserved crispy
bacon. Yield: 4 servings

To make the marinade,
combine all the marinade ingredients and mix well. Toss the rabbit pieces
in the marinade, cover and refrigerate overnight. Remove the rabbit from
the marinade. For the braising, cut the pancetta into 3/4- inch cubes.
Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, deep-sided frying pan over low
heat, add the pancetta and cook until golden and most of the fat has rendered.
Remove the pancetta and reserve.

Add the whole garlic cloves
and shallots to the pan, increase the heat to medium and cook until golden
all over. Save the garlic and shallots with the pancetta. Season the rabbit
with salt and pepper. Brown the pieces on both sides in the pancetta fat.
Add more oil if necessary. Discard the fat and deglaze the pan with 1/4
cup champagne vinegar. Remove the two loin pieces and set aside. Add the
pig's foot, chicken stock, tomato paste, hot red pepper flakes, fresh thyme,
the pancetta, garlic and shallots, cover with a piece of parchment paper
or foil and then a lid. Cook over the lowest heat 15 minutes. Remove the
loin pieces. Cook an additional 15 minutes or until the meat and vegetables
are tender. Transfer the rabbit pieces to a serving platter. Reduce the
sauce until it coats the back of a spoon. Stir in the 1/4 cup creme fraiche.
Keep the sauce warm.

Preheat the broiler. Brush
the rabbit pieces with fresh mustard. Sprinkle with crumbs and brown under
the broiler. Melt the butter for the favas in a small saucepan over medium
heat. Add the favas, season with salt and pepper and heat through. Add
the parsley and the fiddlehead ferns just before serving. Yield: 2 to 4
servings.

Peel any silver skin from
the rabbit and discard. Combine the ingredients of the seasoning mix, mixing
well; sprinkle the rabbit lightly and evenly with about 1-1/2 tsp of the
mix and combine the remaining seasoning with the flour in a medium-size
bowl or plastic bag. Pour 1/4-inch of the oil in a large skillet and heat
to about 350 F. Add about 1/3 that amount butter, being careful, as the
butter will sizzle briefly.

Meanwhile, coat the rabbit
with the seasoned flour; shaking off any excess. Immediately add the rabbit
to the skillet and fry until golden brown, about 1-1/2 minutes per side.
Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately.

To serve, cut each tenderloin
diagonally into slices 1/4-inch thick and arrange in a crescent around
the edge of a salad plate. Pour about 2 tablespoons of the Mustard Sauce
in the center of the plate.

Combine all the ingredients
in a 1 quart saucepan over medium-low heat. Simmer (do not boil) and stir
until thickened, about 15-20 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool to room
temperature. Makes about 1 cup.

CFF Shared by Mike

The ruffle-edged egg
noodles called trenette absorb some of the rich broth in the rabbit mushroom
sauce.

Make sauce: Preheat oven
to 325 F. Cut mushrooms into 1/4-inch-thick slices. Pat rabbit and reserved
liver dry. Season rabbit with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking
off excess. In a large heavy ovenproof skillet heat oil over moderately
high heat until hot but not smoking and brown rabbit on all sides. Transfer
rabbit to a plateand in the skillet sauté
pancetta or bacon, stirring, until golden. Add onion and chopped garlic
and sauté stirring, until onion is golden. Add vinegar and wine
and deglaze skillet, scraping up brown bits. Simmer onion mixture until
liquid is evaporated, about 5 minutes. Cut off and discard top 1/4 inch
of head of garlic, exposing cloves, and add head to onion mixture with
broth, water, and herbs. Bring mixture to a simmer and season with salt
and pepper. Stir in mushrooms and rabbit and braise, covered, in middle
of oven 1 hour, or until meat is tender.

Using 2 forks shred meat,
discarding bones, and stir into sauce with reserved liver if using. Simmer
sauce over moderate heat 10 minutes and season with salt and pepper. Sauce
may be made 1 day ahead and cooled, uncovered, and before being chilled,
covered.

In an 8-quart kettle bring
7 quarts of salted water to a boil. Cook pasta until al dente (about 2
minutes for fresh, longer for dried) and drain in a colander. In a heated
bowl immediately toss pasta with sauce and garnish with parsley. Serves
4 to 6 as a main course.

Roux: In a black iron
skillet, heat the oil over medium high heat until it registers approximately
300 degrees on a deep fat fryer thermometer, approximately 300 degrees.
Using a wire whisk , slowly add the flour, stirring constantly until the
roux is nutty colored. At this point, the roux is ideal for thickening
a light seafood gumbo. (Recipe Below) Continue to cook this roux over medium
heat and you will begin to see it change in color, getting darker and more
aromatic. Make sure you constantly stir it so it doesn't burn.

Gumbo: In a large cast
iron pot, heat your roux. Add onions, green peppers, celery, cook
for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are wilted. Meanwhile, season rabbit
pieces with the cayenne pepper and the 2 teaspoons of salt. Add the rabbit
and mushrooms to the roux and vegetables and cook for 15 minutes. Add stock
to the pot and bring up to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasonings. Add green onions and parsley. Serve with steamed
rice. Yield: 6 servings.

CFF Shared by Mike

Tips for Cooking Rabbit at Home

1. Cook the legs and saddle
separately. Braise the meaty hind legs in stock and aromatic seasonings
and roast the saddle (loin) separately because the type of meat is different
in both areas - like a chicken breast and leg. Smaller, bonier forelegs
can be cooked with the hind legs or reserved for stock or soup.

2. Use rabbit legs as
a substitute for chicken in paella or other dishes.

3. If you're simply roasting
rabbit, cook it to an internal temperature of 150 degrees, slightly lower
than chicken. You want a bare hint of pink remaining because rabbit is
so lean it will dry out easily if overcooked.

4. Strong seasonings overpower
the meat so stick with aromatic herbs such as thyme, tarragon and sage.
Serve rabbit en brochette with grilled vegetables and grains such as bulgur
(cracked wheat) and polenta or pasta.

5. Since rabbit is considered
a game meat by most folks, try it in a ragout with wild mushrooms.

6. Though white wine is
often used to deglaze the pan that rabbit is sautéed in, you can
also use grappa (the fiery Italian clear brandy) and balsamic vinegar.

7. Rabbit liver is unusually
large and unusually delicious. Sear it on both sides in clarified butter,
leaving it pink inside. Then add a few shallots to the pan with some wine,
port or brandy and cook a few minutes. Process with a touch of cream, salt,
pepper and a pinch of allspice or nutmeg for quick pate.

CFF Shared by Mike

What Wine to Drink with Rabbit?

Light reds such as Beaujolais
and Pinot and full-bodied whites such as Chardonnay should do the trick.
In the classic French lapin a la moutarde, rabbit with mustard sauce, the
wine used in the cooking is often an Alsatian Riesling. This could also
be the wine you drink with the dish. Or you could try a gewürztraminer
or a white Rhone.